Advance tax collections from the corporate sector, other firms and individuals in the current fiscal stood at Rs 10.45 lakh crore on Sunday, up 14.6% from last year. In the same period last fiscal, these collections – a proxy for corporate profitability and the state of the economy – stood at Rs 9.11 lakh crore.
The last instalment of advance tax payment for FY25 was due on March 15, 2025.
Notably, the growth in advance tax collections in the fourth quarter (till March 16) decelerated to around 2.4% year-on-year from 16.8% in the third quarter. The growth in the first and second quarters was 27% and 20.6%, respectively.
Data released by the Finance Ministry on Monday showed that the Centre’s direct tax collections, even after refunds, rose 13.1% year-on-year to `21.3 lakh crore in FY25 so far. The collections till March 16 account for 95% of the Revised Estimates (RE) of FY25.
Advance tax collections under the corporate tax (CIT) category rose 12.5% to 7.57 lakh crore in the current fiscal so far, while non-corporate, mainly personal income tax (PIT), saw a growth rate of 20.5% to2.87 lakh crore. CIT mop-up after refunds between April 1 and March 16 grew 7.1% year-on-year, while the Revised Estimates (RE) had shown a growth of 7.6%.
However, collections from securities transaction tax (STT) have risen by nearly 56% to Rs 53,095 crore so far this fiscal. Meanwhile, refunds of over Rs 4.60 lakh crore were issued during this period, as against Rs 3.47 lakh crore in the same period a year ago. Gross direct tax collections rose 16.2% to Rs 25.87 lakh crore till March 16.
In the revised estimates for the current fiscal, the government has projected income tax collections at Rs 12.57 lakh crore, higher than the budget estimate (BE) of Rs 11.87 lakh crore. Collections from STT are estimated to be Rs 55,000 crore in the revised estimates this fiscal, higher than the budget estimate of Rs 37,000 crore.
However, the corporate tax collection target has been revised to Rs 9.80 lakh crore, lower than the budget target of Rs 10.20 lakh crore. Overall, direct tax collections are estimated at Rs 22.37 lakh crore in the revised estimates, higher than Rs 22.07 lakh crore in the budget estimates.
Rohinton Sidhwa, Partner, Deloitte India, said: “The revised collections continue to see good growth in personal and STT. The overall collections reflect the increased reliance on and growth in personal taxes as against corporate income tax.”
Hitesh Sawhney, Partner, Price Waterhouse & Co, said: “The impressive direct tax collections till March 2025 are testimony to the government’s effective fiscal strategies, including the Direct Tax Vivaad se Vishwas Scheme 2.0, extended filing period for updated returns, etc., which have significantly boosted compliance and taxpayer satisfaction.”
